German supermarket tunes into wireless

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2003 06:52:18 -0700
> From: Nick Ruark <nbruark () qualitymobile com>
> Subject: German supermarket tunes into wireless
> To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
>
>
>
>
>
> Supermarket tunes into wireless
>
> Tuesday 19 August 2003
>
>
> German supermarket chain Metro is researching how wireless technology
> can boost retail.
>
> The collection of technology in Metro's Future Store initiative aims
> to boost store efficiency, enable targeted marketing and cut long queues,
> among other things. The Future Store is an experimental store, but it is one
> that involves real customers using real technology in real time. It is run
> by the fifth largest retailer in the world, with 2,300 stores in 26
> countries and sales of ?51.5bn in 2002.
>
> Even hardened retail technology executives admit that the prospect of
> testing and refining multiple technologies in a genuine retail setting is
> enough to make their hearts pound.
>
> "This is a very unique IT retailing experiment, and we're glad to be a
> part of it," says Dimitris Nikolatas, product manager of Cisco Systems.
> Cisco is providing a huge chunk of the hardwired and wireless IP
> infrastructure, including a content delivery platform that broadcasts audio
> and video content and data from a central source to any number of delivery
> points.
>
> Of all the technologies being tested, two stand out: wireless and
> radio frequency ID (RFID). In one way or the other, the two are linked to
> just about every new technical gadget being tested in the store.
>
> The entire 4,000 sq ft building is covered by a wireless Lan based on
> the 802.11b standard. The network links all mobile devices, such as personal
> shopping assistantsPSAs)  and PDAs (personal digital assistants), and some
> stationary devices, such as electronic shelf labels (ESLs), check-out points
> and flatscreen displays for product promotion.
>
> The PSA is a mini-computer attached to the shopping trolley and linked
> directly to the Wlan.  Manufactured by Wincor Nixdorf International, the PC
> includes a touchscreen with integrated scanner that allows shoppers to scan
> their own purchases for quick payment at the checkout. Purchase data is
> transmitted over the Wlan to the checkout terminal, where shoppers give the
> assistant their reference number assigned by the PSA and pay without having
> to handle any merchandise.
>
> Store employees are equipped with PDAs. The Future Store is testing
> Hewlett-Packard's iPaq 5450 and 3970 models as well as Symbol Technologies'
> PDT-8100. The handheld devices run Microsoft's Windows Pocket PC operating
> system.
>
> Linked to the Wlan the PDAs allow employees to check inventory or
> reorder goods by directly accessing Metro's merchandise management system at
> any time and any point in the store.
>
> The next phase of development calls for the PDAs to receive "soft
> phone" functionality, enabling staff to make calls in addition to sending
> messages or downloading information. The service will be based on VoIP
> (voice over Internet Protocol) technology, as are all other hardwired and
> wireless in-store communication systems.
>
> While ESL technology has been around for almost a decade, its
> prohibitive cost in the past had prevented widespread use.
>
> Almost all products in the Future Store have electronic labels. These
> labels receive price information directly from the merchandise management
> system via the radio network using base stations located in the ceiling.
>
> Price information is transmitted simultaneously to the shelf and
> checkout to avoid price differences resulting from erroneous labelling. The
> price labels are equipped with an easily legible digital LCD, battery and
> radio receiver.
>
>  Plasma advertising screens, serving as either a complement to or
> replacement for classic print advertising, offer multimedia information,
> including videos, about products. Linked to the Wlan, the displays allow
> product promotions to be steered quickly and selectively from a central
> point.
>
> Certainly, one of the most talked about technical novelties of the
> Future Store is RFID. It is a technology high on the priority list of Metro
> and other big European retailers, such as Tesco in the UK and Carrefour in
> France, not to mention the European Central Bank (ECB), which is struggling
> to stem the flood of counterfeited euro notes.
>
> But RFID is also deeply criticised by privacy advocates such as
> Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (Caspian). They
> worry that such technology could create an Orwellian world where sales
> assistants or, worse, police officers or security guards, could read the
> contents of a handbag with the wave of a wand. Consumer concerns about RFID
> have prompted one of the biggest names in the retail world, Wal-Mart Stores,
> to scale back its ambitious plans for deploying the smart tag technology.
>
> RFID systems have come a long way from their origins in the World War
> II when the US government used transponders to distinguish friendly aircraft
> from enemy aircraft. Today they are being used, albeit in limited numbers
> because of the cost of manufacturing the chips, for delivering packages,
> handling luggage and monitoring highway tolls.
>
> A typical RFID tag contains a computer chip and an antenna. Unlike
> barcodes, which need to be scanned manually and read individually, radio ID
> tags do not need line-of-sight reading, so hundreds of tags can be read in a
> second.
>
> Moreover, when stimulated by a radio signal, the chip transmits a
> unique code to identify whatever product the tag is fixed to. This unique
> identifier carries not only the product's universal product code (UPC) as
> barcodes do now, but also gives that particular item its own unique
> identity. For example, instead of a bar code saying: "This is a box of Brand
> X detergent", the RFID chip says: "This is box number 12345 of Brand X".
>
> If the difference is subtle, the impact is huge. A retailer could
> quickly trace and remove a bad lot of canned goods.
>
> Metro is using two types of RFID technology in the store: one operates
> at the 13.65-MHz high frequency range; the other uses the 900-MHz to
> 1000-MHz  UHF (ultrahigh-frequency)  band. The high-frequency RFID
> technology is used to track individually tagged items within a 1.5m range
> inside the store. The UHF version tracks pallets and boxes, and can read at
> a distance of up to 7m. Philips is supplying both systems.
>
> One new system being tested in the Future Store and involving RFID
> tags is the "smart shelf". Tagged items are located on shelves with embedded
> readers that communicate with the merchandise management system via the
> Wlan. The shelves automatically recognise when tagged goods are removed or
> replaced, and report the movement of goods to the system. A big advantage of
> the system is that shelves automatically trigger requests for fresh
> supplies.
>
> In addition to tracking goods, RFID technology allows shoppers in the
> entertainment section to swipe tagged music CDs on a system that plays a
> music sample from the disc.
>
> Another RFID application under testing is delivery. Pallets and boxes
> are tagged at Metro's distribution centre in Essen and recorded as they pass
> through a gate in the Future Store. The system is designed to provide
> real-time information on warehouse shipments and shop-floor inventory
> levels.
>
> Gerd Wolfram, project manager of the Metro Future Store admits that a
> huge challenge, admits is managing the data generated from the movement of
> tagged products from delivery and stocking to selection and payment. SAP is
> testing an RFID inventory control system aimed at connecting every piece of
> RFID technology to the enterprise. Technology to crunch these numbers is
> being provided by Intel which, together with SAP, is a principal technology
> partner behind the Metro pilot.
>
> If and when RFID tags replace barcodes, Metro foresees PSAs and
> checkouts being equipped with tag readers. Readers integrated in the PSAs
> would automatically register what shoppers have in their carts. For those
> shoppers preferring not to use the PSA, purchases would be automatically
> recorded by checkout gates equipped with readers.
>
> Of the Future Store's 40,000 products, only around 30 carry individual
> tags, including razor blades from Gillette, cheese from Kraft, shampoo from
> Procter & Gamble and some CDs.
>
> The day when radio ID tags push barcodes completely to the sidelines,
> however, could be several years away, warns Wolfram. "The current chips cost
> between 30 [euro] cents and 60 cents," says Wolfram. "For us to deploy RFID
> chips economically, the price will have to come down to around two cents."
>
> Chips based on plastic rather than silicon could be the answer, says
> Joachim Pinhammer, director of marketing of retail systems at Wincor
> Nixdorf. "Polymer could certainly help drive down the prices, but the use of
> this material for miniature chips still requires some research."
>
> Infineon Technologies is one of several chip makers conducting
> research on plastic chips. Last year researchers at the company succeeded in
> integrating plastic electronic circuits on commercially available packaging
> film.
>
> "This technology could certainly be an alternative, but one of the big
> challenges will be to develop equipment that can print chips economically on
> packaging materials," says Günter Schmid, a research director at Infineon.
>
> "The problem is, printing companies don't know a whole lot about
> circuits and chip makers aren't familiar with printing. But I'm pretty
> confident that we'll find a solution on this front."
>
> If the price of manufacturing RFID chips is a concern now, the issue
> of privacy could prove a potential drawback in the long term. In April,
> fashion retailer Benetton Group postponed plans to roll out RFID tags in one
> of its clothing outlets, following protests from privacy groups. Philips has
> responded to these growing fears by implementing a new feature into its tags
> that disables them at point of sale.
>
> Earlier this summer, Wal-Mart caved to protests and pulled
> radio-tagged items out of the store piloting them, saying that it will now
> focus its RFID efforts on the supply chain. In response to consumer
> complaints, Gillette is also saying that its use of RFID tags is to improve
> SCM efficiency, claiming its focus is on tracking pallets and cases and not
> customers.
>
> Metro is aware of the privacy concerns linked to RFID, says Future
> Store guru Wolfram, and will do what is necessary to ensure that consumer's
> privacy rights are not violated. But the company, he is quick to add,
> recognises the huge benefits of this technology - for consumers and
> retailers alike - in terms of service and cost.
>
> So far, Metro's Future Store has generated far more favourable buzz
> than negative. It helps, of course, when a group of industry heavyweights
> throws its support behind such a store and, perhaps even more, when German
> model Claudia Schiffer, a native of Rheinberg, stops by to shop.
>
> John Blau writes for IDG News Service
>
> Source:
> http://www.computerweekly.com/articles/article.asp?liArticleID=124242&liFlavourID=1&sp=1
>
>
>
> Forwarded from the Private Wireless Forum for Mobile Communication
> Professionals
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PrivateWirelessForum
>
>
>
>
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